LiveLive Updates July 12, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJuly 12, 2026UpdatesHigh school IDF refusers unfurl giant banner in Tel AvivTeenage activists from the group "Mesarvot," an advocacy group that supports conscientious objectors, unfurled a giant banner reading "We hereby refuse to enlist" in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square.High school-aged activists unfurl a banner in central Tel Aviv that reads 'We hereby refuse to enlist.' Credit: Courtesy of MesarvotHigh school-aged activists unfurl a banner in central Tel Aviv that reads 'We hereby refuse to enlist.' Credit: Courtesy of MesarvotThe banner included a link to the refusal letter, which has been signed by over 130 signatories who pledge not to join the IDF in protest of the Israeli military's "policy of war, occupation and extermination."5 hours agoU.S. strikes target multiple sites in coastal Iran, reports sayAfter Iran's Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard east of Iran's Bandar Abbas and in the coastal area of Qeshm, IRNA said that missiles were launched by the "enemy" and there were no casualties.Axios reported that the U.S. military conducted a few strikes on missile and air defense systems and targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats at multiple locations around the Strait of Hormuz.Syria's new parliament holds first session since Assad's ousterSyria's newly elected parliament held its first session since the ouster of former President Bashar Assad on Sunday, hoping to restart the legislative process in the country after years of conflict and autocratic rule.Two-thirds of the 210-member People's Assembly were elected through electoral colleges, while one-third were appointed directly by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The new parliament will serve a 30-month term while preparing for future elections.Members of Syria's newly formed People's Assembly attend the body's inaugural session, the first parliament session since the end of the rule of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus. Credit: Khalil Ashawi/ REUTERSMembers of Syria's newly formed People's Assembly attend the body's inaugural session, the first parliament session since the end of the rule of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus. Credit: Khalil Ashawi/ REUTERSThe launch of parliament indicates that the country is moving ahead with drafting new laws as it recovers from decades of brutal rule under the Assad family and a deadly war that killed about half a million people."After liberating our homeland and regaining our freedom, we are all moving toward consolidating the state," al-Sharaa said in an address to parliamentarians.After taking an oath, the legislators elected Abdul Hamid al-Awak as speaker. Al-Awak, who is from northeastern Hassakeh province, served as a judge in the Justice Ministry for a decade, according to Syria's state-run SANA news agency. Reports said he was among many Syrian officials who defected from the Assad government in the early days of the uprising and left to Turkey.Rep. Ro Khanna: 'The IDF is lying,' following congressman's detention in the West BankDemocratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California recalled the incident on Wednesday of being blocked by armed settlers in the West Bank and detained by the IDF to the NBC's Meet the Press.Asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to the incident and an IDF statement that said troops were dispatched to the scene quickly, dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road, Khanna said, "The IDF is lying.""What happened was unprecedented. They had violent settlers detain American citizens, including an American government official. You had these settlers brandishing M4S, kicking the tires off our van, laughing at us, mocking us, videotaping us," he said."We were detained for about twenty minutes, fearful of our lives. Then the IDF comes, four soldiers. They tell our translator that they're on the side of the settlers. They further detain us and block us in."We had to call the American embassy. Fortunately, David Brownstein [Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem] helped, and he reached someone in Israel. And 75 minutes after the detention by the IDF soldiers and by these settlers, we were let through.""Now I heard the prime minister, and he says that Israel is a country of law and order. Well, let me be very specific. The prime minister needs to open an investigation into these violent settlers who are connected to Yinon Levi, who has destroyed Zanuta's village and is a known person who has killed Palestinians," Khanna said, referring to the fatal shooting of activist Awdah al-Hathaleen. Awdah Hathaleen. Credit: Emily GlickAwdah Hathaleen. Credit: Emily GlickAccording to Khanna, the settlers who detained him are connected to Levi and they "need to be prosecuted.""Their outpost needs to be investigated, and [Netanyahu] needs to have an investigation on these four IDF officers. Security cameras can see that they were involved in the detention of American citizens. How dare they mistreat people with an American passport that way?"Netanyahu says Rep. Ro Khanna's West Bank detention does not reflect 'law-abiding' settler communityAfter U.S. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna called for the arrest of four Israeli soldiers who he said assisted armed Israeli settlers in detaining him during a visit to the West Bank this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC's Meet the Press, "We're a country of laws, and people who break the law, we take them to court."U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks with a Palestinian resident of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, during a visit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Thursday. Credit: Ammar Awad /ReutersU.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks with a Palestinian resident of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, during a visit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Thursday. Credit: Ammar Awad /ReutersHe said the incident was the result of "150 juvenile delinquents" who are not part of what he calls the "law-abiding" settler community.Trump, Netanyahu eulogize late Senator Lindsey Graham on NBC's Meet the PressPresident Donald Trump addressed the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham on NBC's Meet The Press: "He was able to deal with Democrats and Republicans. If I had a problem, a real problem, I wouldn't often ask, but if I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out. He was a great politician."Trump said that he received a call from Graham on Saturday night, who told the president that "we're all set for the Save America Act," with Trump adding, "We thought maybe we might even meet today, and then that was it."Trump celebrated Graham for his defense of Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court nominee who was accused of sexual assault, as one of the classic moments "in the history of the Senate.""He defended Brett Kavanaugh so brilliantly, and Brett might not have made it except that he was. Good man, they treated him so unfairly, and Lindsey was so angry at the Senate because of it, and he had a really emotional moment, and I think that saved Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court, you know, ascension."Trump said it's too early to declare a replacement for Graham's role, but "I do have somebody that I think is really good. The governor [Henry McMaster] is a good friend of mine. I endorsed him early on, and he endorsed me right from the beginning,"Trump said on NBC that he didn't want to talk about whether the Straits of Hormuz are open or closed "because I want to honor the life of Lindsey Graham.""We bombed the hell out of them last night. They're very evil and sick people. We had meetings with them. They agreed to a deal yesterday. A perfect deal for us. No nuclear. No this. No that. No nothing. They gave up everything. After that, they left the room. And then, within an hour, they launched a drone and a ship. I said, "You people are sick. You're sick people, and so it's one of those things. I don't want to talk about it."Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is in "grief" over the passing of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.He said that Graham often would try to negotiate larger military aid packages for Israel, saying, "Whatever the number is, it has to be bigger. And I said, 'Lindsey, we can do with a smaller number.' He said, 'No, you can't.' And then he would go to the Senate and he would outbid the prime minister of Israel," Netanyahu said.Netanyahu said Graham supported military campaigns in Iran, telling him, "'Bibi, you have to do it. You have to knock out these nuclear weapons programs before they knock us out.'"IDF says it killed two Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip over the weekendThe IDF announced that it killed two Hamas militants in two separate strikes on Thursday and Saturday in the Gaza Strip.According to the IDF, Hassan Mustafa Zahir Al-Razina, killed on Saturday, "posed an immediate threat to IDF troops," and had recently "attempted to plant explosive devices in the area of the Yellow Line."Mohammad Mahmoud Abd al-Mu'ti Fayyoumi, killed on Thursday, helped advance "imminent terror attacks against IDF soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip."In the NewsIsrael to Grant Millions to Settler Group Sanctioned by U.K., France and CanadaIran Attacks Gulf States After U.S. Strikes, Says Hormuz Strait ClosedLatest Poll Shows Eisenkot's Party Continues to Outperform Netanyahu's LikudIDF Probe Fails to Explain Why Slain IDF Soldier Was Sent to Guard Civilian TourThe Week the Democrats Defined the Israel-Palestine Debate for 2028Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThe Original Tradwives of Ancient RomeThe 'Special Relationship' Is Gone, and Israel Isn't Ready for What's ComingAs Israel Lacks Hundreds of Patrol Officers, West Bank Staff DoublesMade in Kurdistan, Smuggled via Jordan: The Mysterious Firearms Flooding IsraelEgypt Lost the World Cup. 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